by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

ASHBURN, Va. - Robert Griffin III pulled Wednesday's most successful play fake on Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan when he posed as a media member inside the Redskins Park auditorium during Shanahan's press conference, asking how Shanahan spent his New Year's Day.

Shanahan started to answer before realizing it was Griffin who had caught his coach in a "Gotcha'' moment.

"You got me by surprise there,'' Shanahan said, laughing. "I tried to put a good game plan together. I wasn't sure how healthy you were, so it was hard without you calling me.

"You got me good.''

The Seattle Seahawks may have the healthier, hotter quarterback in fellow rookie Russell Wilson entering Sunday's wild-card meeting. But Griffin's sprained knee is getting better, and he said during his earlier press conference that he is healed to the point where the bulky brace he is wearing is causing him to limp more than the knee itself.

"It's getting pretty close to just being mostly the brace,'' Griffin said. "The doctors aren't going to let me take it off, I don't believe.

"I try to do as much as I can without the brace. Then, whenever they find out that I don't have it on, I have to throw it on.''

Shanahan agreed somewhat, saying, "He probably doesn't have to wear it. But the doctors thought it would be best for him to wear it to protect it so we don't further injure the LCL ... He can still run it and run it well.''

Griffin appeared to be hobbling at times against the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday night's 28-18 win. But he ran effectively enough on read-option keepers that he gained 63 yards on six carries and scored a 10-yard touchdown.

"I know a lot of people talk about the limp with the brace, but any time you wear a brace like that, it's to protect you,'' the quarterback said. "So, it's going to cause a natural limp. ... You're not going to be able bend your knee normally. It restricts your flexion and your extension. It's just to protect the ligaments in there.

"So there will be a natural limp in there. At the same time, you can still generate power.''

Griffin completed just nine of 18 passes for 100 yards against the Cowboys, but Shanahan said he doesn't believe the injury has diminished RGIII's accuracy. On the season, Griffin is completing 65.6% of his pases with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. But the Cowboys forced him to hold the ball on several early throws as they changed up to more deep zone coverage and invited the Redskins to run 42 times.

"Being 50% sounds like it's not very accurate, especially for him,'' Shanahan said of Griffin's second-lowest completion rate this season. "But they challenged us a little different way last week, and we didn't throw the football as much."

If there's a silver lining to the injury, Griffin said it has taught him how important it is to protect himself when necessary.

"This game is not easy, but the injury did show me some things I can do to make the game easier for myself - easier on my body,'' he said. "Ironically, I've done a better job of protecting myself since the injury, sliding, getting down, getting all the possible yards I can and getting out of bounds.

"I don't think I've ever rushed for 10 yards a carry in a game, and I did that in this past game. That was kind of funny.''